Trending

Capone Update!

Kyle King and Capone in the Nexen Cup Derby at the Spruce Meadows National- Photo by Keara

You may remember the article about Capone that I wrote in February after the Olympic declaration list was released and, surprisingly, Mac Cone had declared him.

At that time we had a lot of questions and confusion since Kyle King was his known rider and they seemed to do very well together – winning the CN Performance Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows in June 2011. They also won a Grand Prix at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping and had very respectable placings in the Nexen Cup Derby and the CN International.

In order to find some accurate information we turned to his wonder owner, Corinne Super, who kindly answered our questions.

Here is what she said:

“After discussing Capone and his timing for the Olympics, Mac was chosen as the best candidate as rider considering it had to be a Canadian team member. Mac began his relationship with Capone only in January 2012. We are looking forward to working with Mac and the exciting future for Capone.”

“I would like to mention that the decision to place Capone with Mac was based solely to give Capone the opportunity at the Olympics. His partnership with Kyle was fantastic. I am forever grateful to Kyle for his support with Capone.”

– Corinne Super

Before I get into what Capone has been up to, here is some information on the selection process for the Canadian Olympic Team.

Numerous factors are taken into consideration: past performance, previous experience of horse and/or rider, perceived reliability of horse and/or rider, perceived ability of the horse to jump Olympic courses, and perceived durability and soundness of the horse.

Performance of declared candidates may be monitored between Sunday, January 1st and Tuesday, June 26th, 2012.

On Tuesday June 26th, 2012, 5 combinations will be named, 4 for the team + one reserve. Three other combinations may be named (in order).

Kyle King and Capone in the 2011 CN International- Photo by Keara

Once again, Corinne Super was wonderful in providing us with an update about Capone’s progress with Mac riding.

I just returned from Toronto were I was with Capone and he looks and feels great. The time Mac took in Florida establishing a relationship with Capone was remarkable. Kyle King took time out of his busy schedule to stop in and see Mac and Capone in Wellington. Mac commented that he was a “great guy.” Kyle offered helpful information with regards to Capone’s jumping style. I was moved by his support. Mac went on to ride Capone to a beautiful clear round while in Wellington. Mac and Capone are now at Palgrave in Ontario where he placed 2nd in the Welcome GP on May 11th. He has another week at Palgrave then off to Spruce Meadows for June.

-Corinne Super

Now, as you may remember I was able to talk to Kyle King after his win at RMSJ last Thursday. After talking about the class and his horses (3 in the jump-off!), I asked him about Capone and this is what he had to say:

*Disclaimer- Yes, this is another one that occurred before I learned the golden rule of not talking while filming. Sorry in advance!

I had stopped filming, but Kyle went on to say that he agrees with the classes that Capone has done/ the pace they are going at. I know that many people were questioning why he hadn’t done more, but Kyle said that even if he were still riding, they would have likely done the same thing. Capone is not a young horse that needs a lot of ‘miles’, over-showing him would do more harm than good.